State Guest House (Vietnam)
The State Guest House, also known as the Tonkin Palace, is a historical monument in Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi, Vietnam. It is presently used as a state guest house as well as the headquarters for the country's presidential office.
The building is representative of French Colonial architecture in French Indochina. It was formerly the Residential Palace of the Tonkin Governor, built between 1918 and 1919 to house the French Governor of Tonkin. It was later renamed the Tonkin Palace when the Viet Minh took over northern Vietnam.
History
The palace was built by Auguste Henri Vildieu between 1918 and 1919 to house the French Governor of Tonkin.The building was the location of Viet Minh's takeover of northern Vietnam, following the August Revolution in 1945.
On December 20, 1946, the French Army battled to capture Tonkin Palace from Viet Minh. The fighting was intense and marked the early stage of the First Indochina War. After six attacks, 122 casualties, and the destruction of four tanks, the French Army occupied the palace.
After the partition of Vietnam, it became the state guest house of North Vietnam, while South Vietnam had the state guest house at Nguyễn Du Street, Nhà khách 108 Nguyễn Du, and close to the Independence Palace.
In modern times, the building serves as the State Guest House of the Vietnamese Government.